The First Five Years Fund is dedicated to increasing federal investment in high-quality early learning and care programs for disadvantaged children from birth to age 5. We aim to help elevate early childhood education as a priority for the nation, garnering bipartisan support and contributing to improvements in funding and quality.
In recent years, Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to support early learning and care, advancing efforts aimed at improving the quality of and access to early childhood opportunities. To fully realize the potential of these opportunities, Congress must ensure that federal early learning programs are properly and sufficiently funded to accomplish the goals and activities authorized by law and to reach more eligible families.
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Learning and development begin long before a child enters a classroom for the first time. As children’s first and most important teachers, parents play the primary role in supporting children’s early learning and development. Voluntary home visiting programs, like those made possible by MIECHV, pair families who often have limited support and resources with trained home visitors such as nurses, social workers and educators. Home visitors meet with parents in their homes from pregnancy through their child’s kindergarten entry to help lay the foundation for the health, education, development and economic self-sufficiency of the entire family.
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Child care is a necessity for low-income and working parents, yet the cost of quality care often places it out of reach for families. Recognizing that quality child care can make a powerful difference in children’s development and families’ well-being, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act provides federal funding to states for child care subsidies for low-income families with children under age 13. Additionally, CCDBG allows for flexibility to pair state and federal funds to improve the overall quality of child care available to families within existing state and local systems.
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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was enacted in December 2015 with overwhelming bipartisan support and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was enacted in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. ESSA prioritizes equal access to education and closing opportunity gaps—issues that originate before children enter the K-12 system.
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The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $275 million competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ early childhood systems by building upon existing federal, state and local early care and learning investments. This funding offers unique opportunities for states to consider the full range of programs, services and funding streams that support children from birth through age 5 and their families and empowers states to improve their systems.
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Head Start is a federally funded program that delivers comprehensive early learning, health, nutrition and family support services to children ages 3-5 living in poverty and their families. Early Head Start (EHS) provides intensive, comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income infants and toddlers under age 3, pregnant women and their families.
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Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) build on the existing strengths of Early Head Start and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies, which allow low-income families to access high-quality child care.
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides grants to states to design and operate programs that support low-income families, including through increased access to child care and early education opportunities, which helps parents to enter or return to the workforce.
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In the same way tax credits are used to make retirement and higher education more accessible, the tax code should also reflect that child care expenses are often directly linked to a parent’s ability to work. Strengthening the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) will help working families who are struggling with the rising cost of quality child care, benefiting the workforce of today – and tomorrow.
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Policymakers in Washington negotiate and advance federal policies that directly support quality early childhood education opportunities, whether through innovative partnerships with states and communities like Preschool Development Grants, or through programs that directly benefit families, like the Child Care Development Block Grants Program. But there are other opportunities, policies and legislation in Congress that fall outside of the core federal programs and policies that can support families with young children.
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